September 25, 2012 •
Tuesday News Snapshot
Keep up with the latest articles on lobbying, campaign finance, government ethics, and more:
Lobbying
“D.C.’s Riches: More Lobbying Over Less” by Matthew Yglesias in Slate.
Alabama: “Alabama gambling lobbyist seeks probation” by Phillip Rawls (Associated Press) in GoErie.com.
California: “California taps the lobbying crowd” in the Central Valley Business Times.
New York: “Court papers: Convicted NYC lobbyist cooperating with prosecutors in inquiry” by The Associated Press in The Republic.
Washington: “Lobbyists, state staff helped Washington lawmaker’s charity, records show” by The Associated Press in The Oregonian.
Campaign Finance
“Trevor Potter Talks Campaign Finance, Super PACs With Bill Moyers” by Tracy Bloom in Truthdig.
“Ben & Jerry’s co-founder talks campaign finance reform” by Tarini Parti in Politico.
New Mexico: “Albuquerque lawmaker spends campaign money on massages” by The Associated Press in KOB News.
Vermont: “Vt. GOP: Sorrell ad may violate campaign finance law” by WCAX News.
Ethics
“Rep. Waters formally cleared by Ethics panel” by Jordy Jager in The Hill.
“Ethics Committee Details ‘Lessons Learned’ From Maxine Waters Case” by Amanda Becker in Roll Call.
Florida: “State Rep. Mike Horner resigns after being linked to brothel in Orange County” by Toluse Olorunnipa, Steve Bousquet and Marc Caputo in the Miami Herald.
Social Media and Government Tech
“Report: States Should Switch to Digital Resources Within 5 Years” in Government Technology.
“Social Media Now A Must Have In The Political Campaign Toolbox” by Amanda Falcone in the Hartford Courant.
“More than 50 members of Congress just say no to Twitter’s 140 characters” by Alicia M. Cohn in The Hill.
“Facebook lets users announce voter registration” by Jennifer Martinez in The Hill.
Political Campaigns
“‘Trackers’ now a weapon in the modern campaign arsenal” by Ry Rivard in the Charleston Daily Mail.
September 19, 2012 •
Wednesday News Roundup
Don’t miss these important Lobbying, campaign finance, and election news articles:
Lobbying
“Street Talk: From K Street to School Corridors” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“K Street abuzz over who will get the $1.8 million Roundtable job” by Kevin Bogardus in The Hill.
“Report: gambling interests spend heavy in Albany” by The Associated Press in the Wall Street Journal.
“Facebook, Google, Amazon join forces in D.C. lobby” by Cecilia Kang in the Washington Post.
“Twitter hires GOP congressional staffer” by Brendan Sasso in The Hill.
Campaign Finance
“Romney campaign took out $20-million loan, still owes $11 million” by Melanie Mason in the Los Angeles Times.
“FPPC Delays Vote on Paid Political Blogger Regulations” by Ben Adler in Capital Public Radio.
Electoral Maps
“2012 Swing States Map” in Politico 2012 Live.
“The Electoral Map: Building a Path to Victory” in the New York Times.
State Legislatures
“Too Much Information: Enemy # 1 for New Member Orientation” by Bruce Feustel in NCSL’s The Thicket.
Social Media
“Gov Website Evolution: Changes in 2013” by Sarah Rich Government Technology.
“The time of the ‘social media’ candidate is nigh” by Jen Doll on TechPresident.
September 17, 2012 •
Monday News Roundup
Start the week off right with these government relations news articles:
Lobbying
“At Holland & Knight, lobbyists no longer have corner offices” by Catherine Ho in the Washington Post.
Florida: “Lobbyist’s lobbying group coming to Jacksonville for annual conference” by Matt Dixon in the Florida Times-Union.
Campaign Finance
“Poll: Americans largely in favor of campaign spending limitations” by Morgan Little in the Los Angeles Times.
“Republican super PACs ramp up spending in House races” by Jake Sherman in Politico.
District of Columbia: “Michael A. Brown’s missing campaign funds” in the Washington Post.
Washington: “Parties pouring cash into race for governor” by Andrew Garber and Justin Mayo in the Seattle Times.
Elections
“Voter Information Guides Go Social With TheBallot.org” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
Ethics
Georgia: “Ethics commission: State has defanged its watchdog” by Chris Joyner in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
New Hampshire: Opinion piece by Grant Bosse,“Election laws grow more confusing” in the New Hampshire Watchdog.
Social Media
“Could a workplace social network replace email and phone? One agency thinks so.” by Joseph Marks in NextGov.
“Facebook knows how to trick you into voting” by Kevin Charles Redmon in Nextgov.
September 14, 2012 •
Friday News Roundup
Let’s close out the week with these government relations articles:
Campaign Finance
“House Dems push new campaign finance reform” by T.W. Farnam in the Washington Post.
“FEC move on wireless campaign contributions could aid Democrats” by Adam Mazmanian in Nextgov.
“Groups Ask Appeals Court to Keep Issue-Ad Donors Secret” by Tom Schoenberg in Bloomberg News.
“US election system criticised over finance rules and voting restrictions” by Karen McVeigh in The Guardian.
Minnesota: “Campaign Finance Board stands by ‘John Doe decision’” by Tom Scheck in MPR News.
“’Citizens United’ on the Corporate Court” by Jamie Raskin in The Nation.
Lobbying
“Lansing lobbyists’ spending on record pace” by Rich Robinson in the Michigan Campaign Finance Network.
Ethics
“Gov. Christie to stop showing GOP-produced video before town hall meetings” by Jenna Portnoy in the Star-Ledger.
Social Media
“New Tool Verifies Authenticity of Gov’t Social Media Sites” by John K. Higgins in E-Commerce Times.
Redistricting
“Serious problems still exist’ with redistricting maps, attorney tells Pennsylvania Supreme Court” by Nick Malawskey in the Patriot-News.
September 13, 2012 •
Thursday News Roundup
Keep up with the latest lobbying, campaign finance, government ethics, redistricting, and social media news with these articles:
Lobbying
“Lobbyists Keep Busy Despite Legislative Lull” by Kate Ackley in Roll Call.
“How Many Lobbyists Are Really Breaking the Law?” by Elahe Izadi in the National Journal.
Campaign Finance
Montana: “Republicans ask court to axe Montana’s campaign contribution laws” by Matt Gouras (Associated Press) in The Republic.
New Jersey: “Political action committees gave $18M to N.J. campaigns last year, analysis shows” by Matt Friedman in the Trenton Times.
Redistricting
Ohio: “Ohio Supreme Court says ballot summary for redistricting issue is inaccurate” by Joe Guillen in the Plain Dealer.
Pennsylvania: “Supreme Court to hear redistricting arguments today” in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Ethics
“HHS chief violated law restricting political activity, OSC finds” by Eric Katz in Government Executive.
“Scandals are making uphill battles even steeper for some lawmakers” by Alexandra Jaffe in The Hill.
Alaska: “APOC says Senate candidate failed to disclose clients” by Richard Mauer in the Anchorage Daily News.
Social Media and tech
“You Gotta Have Friends: New Study Shows Facebook Can Get Out the Vote” by Micah L. Sifry in TechPresident.
“Study: Facebook drove turnout in 2010” by Steve Friess in Politico.
“Facebook to Cities: Change Page Names, or Else” by Noelle Knell in Governing.
“Web pioneer providing voter database for free” by Gregory Korte in USA Today.
August 30, 2012 •
Campaign Finance and Ethics in the News
Keep up with the latest news with these campaign finance, ethics, and social media articles:
Campaign Finance
“Obama calls for constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United” by Byron Tau in Politico.
New York: “Candidates who didn’t file financial disclosure listed here” by Rick Karlin in Capitol Confidential.
Ethics
South Carolina: “‘Unusual alliance’ calls for tougher state ethics laws” by Andrew Shain in The State.
Social Media
“Answers from Barack Obama’s ‘Ask Me Anything’ on Reddit” by Micah L. Sifry on TechPresident.
“Obama vows to fight for Internet freedom on Reddit” by Joseph Marks in NextGov.
“Welcome to Excellence in Government Online” by Bryan Klopack in Government Executive.
August 29, 2012 •
Wednesday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Also government ethics, redistricting, and social media
Lobbying
“The Art of Going Corporate at Political Conventions” by Diane Brady in Bloomberg Business Week.
“K Street preps for Hurricane Isaac” by Dave Levinthal in Politico.
“Lobbyists, businesses pamper New Jersey delegates with food, parties” by Melissa Hayes in The Record.
District of Columbia: “New D.C. Campaign Finance Reform Would Ban Lobbyist Bundling” in the Blog of the Legal Times.
New York: “Lawmaker-lobby guidelines emerge” by Rick Karlin in the Albany Times Union.
Ottawa, Canada: “New lobby registry looks easy as pie” by Joanne Chianello in the Ottawa Citizen.
Campaign Finance
California: “Unleashing the Campaign Contributions of Corporations” by Eduardo Porter in The New York Times.
Pennsylvania: “With money to burn, Fitzpatrick won’t limit spending” by Gary Weckselblatt in The Intelligencer.
Washington: “Churches can’t be intermediary for gay-marriage law donations, watchdog says” by Rachel La Corte (Associated Press) in The Olympian.
Ethics
Illinois: “Emanuel appointees propose more oversight on ethics” by Hal Dardick in the Chicago Tribune.
New York: “NY ethics board hires another Cuomo aide” by The Associated Press in the Utica Observer Dispatch.
New York: “Silver’s Sexual-Harassment Payout May Get New York Ethics Review” by Freeman Klopott in Bloomberg Business Week.
New York: “New York Can’t Escape Corruption as Senator Huntley Indicted” by Freeman Klopott and David McLaughlin (Bloomberg) in the San Francisco Chronicle.
North Carolina: “Dalton rolls out ethics package, term limits” by Travis Fain in the Greensboro News and Record.
Utah: “Utah cities, counties, guv preparing for new ethics commission law” by Cathy McKitrick in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Redistricting
Arizona: “Ariz. GOP: Redistricting commission’s existence illegal” by Howard Fischer in East Valley Tribune.
Texas: “Texas redistricting plan ruled illegal” by Gary Martin and Gary Scharrer in the San Antonio Express-News.
Social Media
“Ann Romney Was Most-Searched, Most-Tweeted Tuesday Night Speaker” by Alex Fitzpatrick in Mashable.
August 21, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Keeping up with the intersection of social media, government, and the political campaigns:
“New Online Game Puts Players in the Lawmaker’s Chair” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
“Study Examines Influence of Social Media on Interaction Between People and their Governments” by Lisa Goldman in TechPresident.
“Federal Mobile App Provides Real-Time Economic Stats” by Brian Heaton in Government Technology.
“Republicans plan a tech-heavy convention” by Steve Friess in Politico.
“Tweets Surrounding Paul Ryan Pick May Have Violated Electioneering Rules” by Emma Dumain in Roll Call.
“Social Media and Politics: An Interview with George Scoville” by Bianca Sciotti in the Independent Voter Network.
August 17, 2012 •
Social Media and Political Campaigns in the News
Here is a roundup of the latest articles about how political campaigns are using social media and technology:
“Announcing techPresident’s ‘Politics and the Internet’ Timeline” by Micah L. Sifry in TechPresident.
“How the Presidential Candidates Use the Web and Social Media” in the Pew Research Center’s Journalism.org.
“Fake social media followers newest ploy, accusation in political campaigns” by The Associated Press in The Washington Post.
“‘Pics or it Didn’t Happen’: 5 Ways Politicians Are Using Instagram” by Amanda Le in the Independent Voter Network.
“Politic365 Launches #VoiceYourVote” on Politic365 Blog.
August 9, 2012 •
Thursday News Roundup
Keep up with the latest lobbying, ethics, and social media news with these articles:
Lobbying
“How lobbyists became Congress’s leading policy wonks” by Suzy Khimm in The Washington Post.
New York: Editorial: “NY lobbying disclosures are a breakthrough” in Newsday.
“The Nation: It’s Still Party Time At The Conventions” by George Zornick on NPR.
Ethics
“Why Ethics Training Is a Waste of Time” by Mark Funkhouser in Governing.
Michigan: “Michigan: AG Will File Charges in Thaddeus McCotter Petition Scandal Thursday, Per Report” by Shira Toeplitz in Roll Call.
New Hampshire: “Speaker calls for more oversight over ethics” by Garry Rayno in the Union Leader.
Social Media
“Wikipedia locks down pages of VP contenders after excessive edits” by Alicia M. Cohn in The Hill.
From the State Legislatures
“Legislative Leaders Share Stories, Offer Lessons on Leadership” by Alex Fitzsimmons in NCSL’s blog The Thicket.
August 6, 2012 •
Monday Lobbying and Campaign Finance News
Don’t miss these articles on lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, and social media:
Lobbying
“Conventions Lose Appeal for D.C. Lobbyists” by Janie Lorber in Roll Call.
California: “Highest-billing lobbying firms” by Laurel Rosenhall in the Sacramento Bee.
Colorado: “University of Colorado’s in-house lobbyists hire out for other firms” by Allison Sherry in the Denver Post.
Indiana: “Daniels still waiting on lobbying decision” by The Associated Press in the Indianapolis Business Journal.
Missouri: “Missouri lawmakers keep reeling in gifts from lobbyists” by Virginia Young in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Campaign Finance
“O’Connor: Declining approval for high court a ‘disappointment’” by Meghashyam Mali in The Hill.
Ethics
Alabama: “Former Gov. Don Siegelman sentenced to 78 months in prison” by Kim Chandler in the Birmingham News.
Government Social Media
“More government officials embrace social media” by Adam Silverman in USA Today.
“Tweets, social media help more officials get the word out” by Adam Silverman in USA Today.
South Carolina “SC governor goes to Facebook to get message across” by The Associated Press in GoUpstate.com.
July 30, 2012 •
Monday News Roundup
Don’t miss these articles on lobbying, campaign finance, ethics, and social media:
Lobbying
“Statehouse Live: At least 8 GOP legislators registered to attend ALEC meeting” by Scott Rothschild in the Lawrence Journal World.
Oklahoma: “Lobbyist gift-giving to Oklahoma lawmakers is up again for the third straight year” by Michael McNutt in the Oklahoman.
Campaign Finance
“Massachusetts Senate calls for Congress to pass law reversing Citizens United decision” by Robert Rizzuto in the Republican.
“Big campaign donors can remain a big secret” by Jon Murray and Mary Beth Schneider in the Indianapolis Star News.
Ethics
Alabama: “Lawmakers plan to run again as ‘double dipping’ ban looms” by Sebastian Kitchen in the Montgomery Advertiser.
Connecticut: “7 charged in Donovan probe” by Ken Dixon in the Connecticut Post.
Illinois: “Feds widen probe into newly retired South Side lawmaker” by Ray Long and Monique Garcia in the Chicago Tribune.
Illinois: “Ex-Illinois lawmaker subpoenaed over scholarships” in the Quad-City Times.
South Carolina: “Taxpayer bill for Haley ethics probe is $61,000” by Andrew Shain in the Charlotte Observer.
Utah: “Utah Supreme Court weighs fate of 2010 ethics initiative” by Cathy McKitrick in the Salt Lake Tribune.
Political Campaigns and Social Media
“New Site Seeks to Aggregate User-Generated Political Videos” by Miranda Neubauer in TechPresident.
July 18, 2012 •
Gov 2.0 News
Here is the latest news about government technology and social media:
“Wash. to unveil voter registration on Facebook” by Rachel La Corte (Associated Press) in the Seattle Times.
“How the New iPhone Will Expose Cities Lagging on Open Data” by Emily Badger in The Atlantic Cities.
“Political Ad Database Debuted by FCC” by Brian Heaton in Government Technology.
“Legislating Social Media in the States” by Dylan Scott in Governing.
July 11, 2012 •
Political Campaigns and Social Media
Social media is playing a high profile role in the 2012 political campaigns and these articles seek to make sense of the latest trends:
“CNN, Facebook Partner to Make ‘America’s Choice 2012’ Political Coverage an Interactive, Social Experience” on CNN News.
“Facebook Wants to Be the ‘Second Screen’ of Election 2012 Coverage” by Zoe Fox in Mashable.
“Facebook will be a key part of the 2012 election” in the Capitol Column.
“Social Fundraising Platform Rally To Launch One-Click Donations” by Sarah Lai Stirland in TechPresident.
Also, be sure to take a look at:
“A Politician’s Guide to Social Media (VIDEO)” in Government Technology.
Video courtesy of Govgirlblog on YouTube.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.